CDS Director Tony Gill

Tony Gill has over the past 30 years gained a wealth of
knowledge and experience in forming, managing and governing co-operatives.

He has assisted in the formation of over
100 co-operatives
since 1980, and has been a director and secretary of 16 and four
co-operatives respectively.

After establishing and managing the Ballarat Employment Co-operative Ltd in the
early eighties,
Tony held various
co-operative development positions within the Victorian Government between 1983
and 1988, including being the first Co-operative Development Officer appointed
within the Victorian Registry of Cooperatives.

Tony played a key role in the development of the
Victorian
Co-operatives Act,
which became the model act for consistent co-operatives legislation around
Australia.

He assisted in the preparation of a Green Paper on Co-operatives Legislation
released by the Victorian Attorney-General in 1988. From 1989 to 1992, Tony was
a member of the Victorian Ministerial Advisory Committee on Co-operation and
its legislation sub-committee, and prepared submissions on behalf of AAC on two
draft Co-operatives Bills prepared by the then Victorian Labor Government in
1989 and 1992.

From 1993 to 1997, Tony was periodically engaged by the Co-operative Federation
of Victoria to develop the current Victorian Co-operatives Act, including
organising consultation and information seminars for
co-operatives, preparing policy for the act, negotiating with the
Attorney-General's Legislation Unit, assisting in preparing drafting
instructions, and lobbying both government and opposition politicians to
support a new
Co-operatives Act. He also had an input into the drafting of the model rules
and regulations.

Since 1999, Tony has been Director of
Co-operative Development Services Ltd and has managed a diverse range of
projects for government, private
and
co-operative clients.